Experiment No. 22: Just Notice

The Basics

We’re Trying to Solve: Raise the awareness of unpaid labor for couples & families
Target Audience: Families, housemates
Ages: All ages
Category: Household chores
Estimated Time: 1 - 10 minutes 
Difficulty Level: Easy

To slow the alarming spread of COVID-19, the viral disease that has become a global pandemic, health officials are urging people to practice social distancing. Schools have closed. Companies have shuttered and asked people, where possible, to work from home. Libraries, museums, movie theaters, public arenas are all closed for the foreseeable future. This new normal is uncertain and scary. Routines are completely disrupted. Couples, families, and housemates are trying to live and work, create some boundaries and stay sane while living virtually on top of one another 24/7.

To survive and even thrive during this stressful time of crisis, psychologists suggest slowing down, being kind, and showing compassion. So, for this week, we want you to do something easy. Take a breath. And just pay attention to the rhythms of your household. 

Directions

1. As you go about your day in this new normal, take a moment to pause once or twice, and just drop into the present moment
2. What do you notice? How are you feeling? What do you need?
3. Pay attention as much to the things, however small, that you’re grateful for, as much as what’s annoying.
4. Reflect on what’s happening at home. Are you having conversations about what everyone needs and expects? To divide chores fairly. To support everyone’s work requirements? Is there an opportunity to create space for that?
5. Feel free to write your reflections down.
6. Share what you’ve noticed. Share with a friend or your partner. Or come to our BLLx Facebook group for community and solidarity - to vent, to share ideas and inspiration, to just remember that you’re not alone.
7. Share your thoughts with others in your household. Ask them to just notice along with you. And listen to what they have to say.
8. Breathe. 

Connect With the Better Life Lab

Are you going to try this week’s experiment? Do you have a story about how you and your own family solved a problem with the work at home? Is there a specific challenge you’ve been trying to tackle? Can this experiment be improved? Please let us know via this form, at bllx@newamerica.org, or in our Facebook group for BLLx Beta Testers.

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